Reversible steam engine



July 22, 1930.

. c. R. REID REVERSIBLE STEAM ENGINE Filed July 23, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 m F L o 1 it a a.

July 22, 1930. c. R. REID I REVERSIBLE STEAM ENGINE Filed July 25, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. a. R. Re id BY %7 ATTORNEY. I

July 22, 1 930. c. R. REID 1,771,351

I REVERSIBLE STEAM'ENGINE Filed July 25, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 C'. R- Reid 4 J GHOX/WMAI July 22, 1930. c. R. REID REVERSIBLE STEAM ENGIXE Y Filed July 23, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 c. R. REID REVERSIBLE STEAM ENGINE July 22, 1930.

7 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 23, 1928 C. Fl. Reid July 22, 1930. c. R. REID v 7 I REVERSIBLE STEAM ENGINE Filed July 23,' 1928 7 Sheefis-Sheet 6 July 22, 1930. c. R. REID 1,771,351

REVERS IBLE STEAM ENGINE Filed July 25, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 of Figure l.

Patented July 22, 1 930 -"UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE- cimnrns a. main; or nnrnnnnnne, Mrssrssrrrr REVERS B E s'rnA vr ENGINE Application filed July 23,

The present invention is directed to improvemnts-in reversible steam engines, and is animprovement of my Patent No."1,056,833, issued March 25, 1913'.

One of the objects of'the invention i-s-to provide novel means whereby the sliding abutment will be yieldably held in engagement with the periphery of rotor.

Another object of the invention isto provide a device of this characterso constructed thatit can be reversed in-a simple manner. 1

Another object of the invention is toprow vide a device, ofthis character which can be p y for pumping fluids, such as water, oil and gasoline. r i r V Anotherobject of the invention is to profully described, claimed and illlustratedin the accompanying drawings, in,which Figure 1 is a side view. Figure 2 is'a top plan view. Figure 3 is a sectional view on line 3'3 Figure jaisan end View with one of the ring plates removed. v

- Figure 51is' a longitudinal sectional view. Figure 6 is a skeleton perspective view.

Figure 7 isa sectional View on line 7--7 of Figure'2. i

. Figure '8 is a longitudinal, sectional view through'one of the valve chests.

. Figure 9 is a sectional view through one of-the valves. i

, 1 Figure 14 is" agdetail perspective View of are i ing abutment.

Figure 10i's a detailESectional view of the ipacking adjustor."

- Figure llisa' sectional viewonline 11 -11 ofFigure5. 1

Figure 12 is a perspective View of theslid Figure ars" a amn View of "as radial blades.

blade packing.

1928. Serial No. 294,730.

tals 2 and 3, provided with bearings 4 and 5, respectively, and in which is journaledthe shaft 6 and upon one end of which is fixed the pulley 7. A=cam 8 is employed and consists of sections 9 and 10, which are engaged upon opposite sides of the circular flange ll of the sleeve l2, said sleeve beingkeyedto theshaft 6; The sections 9 and are provided, respectively, with cam tracks 13 and14, the purpose of which will be later explained. The sections are secured by bolts 14 in order that they can be conveniently attached to or removed from the flange ll.

The rotor casing 15 is supported uponth-e bed plate 1 and consists of'a pair of ring plates 16'-16 spaced to provide a steam or other fluid space 1? to accommodate the rotor 18, said rotor having a radial recess 19 1 .therein'in which is fitted the radial impeller blade'20, said blade havinga slot 21 in which is mounted a packing member 22 which consists of sections 23 and 24, said sections hav ing extensions25 and 26, and plates 27 and 28 adapted to slidably'overlap. To the section 24 is secured a pin 29 and upon which is' v engagedl 'a' coil spring 30 Y which serves to force the sections apart in orderthat the sides ei-aiiuiereoi Will yieldably engage" the inner sides of the ring plates 1'6l6 to' prevent fluidleak'age. The pin' 2 9 interlocks the sections 23 andQl when it is engaged in the opening 32 of the section 23, and in order to hold the outer ends of the sections'yield ably engaged with the annular wall 33 of the rotor casing a coil spring S is engaged in a recess of the blade and with the ends of the sections. I

A casing 36 is mounted upon therotor' casing 15 and; in which ismounted the sliding abutment 87,.and since the construction thereof is'the same as that of my former patent, a

{detailed description thereof is not thought necessary. a i

As in my former patent thereis a platen 38 mounted in the casing 36 which rests upon the abutment 37. ,The'iahutment has its rod 39 fixed to the slide 4O [movable inthe" guide- 7, y 7 4 i V grooves 41, thesaidfslide having a pin 42 Referring to the drawings, l designates a 7 bed plate having rising -from its ends pedes carriedthereby and upon which ismounted an anti-friction sleeve 43, for engagement in the cam track 14. This slide has a bracket 44 to which is pivotally connected the lower end of the link 45, said link having its. upper end modate the plunger 48. The lower end of the plunger extends throughthe toprof the casing 36 and is impinged against the platen 38, as clearly shown in Figure 5.

A pair of valve chests 52 and 53is em= ployed and have mounted therein transverse partitions 54 in which are formed ports 55, there being cylinders 56 fitted between the partitions and rear walls of the chests, said cylinders having inlet ports 57 formed therein in order that steam can pass from the cylinder and through the ports 55. V

Steam is conducted to the chest through the branch pipes 58 through a pipe 59 which leads from'a suitable source of steam supply.

Movable in the cylinders 56 are valves 60, the stems 61 thereof being connected to a 1 cross arm 62, said arm being fixed to a slide 63 which slides in the guide grooves 41. I The slide 63 has carried thereby a pin 64 upon which isrotatably mounted the anti-friction sleeve 65 for engagement inthecam track 13.

Leading from the chests 52 and 53 are pipes 66 and 67 respectively, each having a valve casing 68 connected thereto and in which are rotatably mounted turning plugs 69 provided with intersecting passages 70 and 71.

The casing 68 and plug 69 constitute a three-way valve which has an outlet 70 for escape of the exhaust into'the atmosphere; By proper setting of the three-way valve, the engine may be reversed. Y a

Mounted in the -'peripheries of the ring plates 1616 are packing rings 7 2 which are confined by the larger rings 73. In order to maintain the rings 7 2 expanded for engage ment with the inner peripheries ofthe ring plates16-l6 a plurality of plates 74 are employed and are'provided with openings 75 for engagement with the bolts 76 carriediby the brackets 77, said brackets being carried by the rotorcas-in'g. The plates have projections 78 and 79 uponfthei-r ends, the latter resting upon therings73 while'the' former rest upon the brackets 7 7.

The bolts have engagedtherewith nuts 80 and interposedb'etweenthe nuts and brackets are coil springs 81. It will be obvious that. the springs will yieldably hold the plates 74 V in engagement with the rings 7 3, and'owing sure of the plates upon thesaid'rings;

to the presence of the nuts the tension. of the springs can be regulated to regulate the pres- It will be observed upon reference to Figure 5 that the sleeve 12 is provided with a head 82 which is secured to the rotor 18 by bolts 83 so that when the rotor is in motion rotary movement will be imparted to the cam 8 in order that the slides 40 and 63 will be reciprocated. The shape of the cam track 14 is such that during rotation of the cam the slide valve will move in order to shift the abutment 37 and actuate the bar 46 in proper timed -relationship.

The pipes 66 and 67 are so arranged that they connect with ports 84 and 85 which open upon opposite sides of the abutment 37.

' The general operation will be best understood upon reference to Figure 6, wherein the abutment 37 is shown extended and engaged with the periphery of the rotor 18, and at which time the plug 69 carried by the pipe67. has its passage 71 is a position to permit steam from the chest 52 to flow into the space 17 and between the blade 20 and abutment,,-the expansive action of the steam causing the blade to travel, thus rotating the shaft 6 in order that power may be taken from the pulley 7. The plug in the pipe 66 will, be adjusted in order that steam from the chest 53 cannot enter the said pipe, but the exhaust steam can pass therethroughfrom the port 84 and to atmosphere. Obviously when it is desired to reverse the travel of the rotor it is-only necessary to cut oil the supply of steam from the pipe 67 and permit the fluid to pass into the space from the pipe 66.

The shape of the cam track 13 is such that the valve 60 will be moved in order thatsteam will be intermittently permitted to flow from the cylinders56, through the ports 57 and into eitheriof the pipes 66 or 67, according to the direction in which the rotor is'traveling. The shape of the cam track 13 is such that steam will not be admitted to the space 17 until a time when the blade 20is adjacent the abut- 46 downwardly to compress the spring 50 and.

which exerts its forceupon the nut 49, whereby the plunger 48 will press downwardly on the platen 38 to hold the rabutment 37 in yielding engagement with the periphery of the rotor ;18,' immediately 1 afterthe blade 20 passessaid abutment. V

Should it be desired to, utilize the device for pumping water or other fluid it is:only

necessary to;connect a pipe, providedwith a check valve, ;to the supply pipe 59 in order that the flu'idwill; be conductedwthrough. a

valve chest and to thespace 1710f: the rotor casing, where upon it will be forced from the op )osite turning plug to its point of use.

. rom the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, and

proportion and minor details of construction, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. In a rotary engine, a casing, a rotor mounted therein, packing rings in the casing for engagement with the sides of the rotor, plates pivotally supported by the casing, rings encircling the packing rings, said plates yieldably engaging the latter rings for hold- I, an

ing the packing rings expanded.

2. In a rotary engine, a casing, a bladed rotor in the casing, an abutment slidable transversely of the rotor, a platen engaged with the abutment, a shaft fixed to the rotor, a cam driven by the shaft, a slide controlled by the cam, a plunger engaged with the platen, and means operable by the slide for operating the abutment and yieldably holding the plunger engaged with the platen and the abutment yieldably engaged with the periphery of the rotor.

3. In a rotary engine, a casing having a bladed rotor movable therein, a shaft for the rotor, a cam driven by the shaft, an abutment, valve chests having cylinders therein, pipe connections between the chest and casing, and

communicating with the casing upon opposite sides of the abutment, valves reciprocable in the cylinders, a pair of slides movable in opposite directions by the cam, means connecting one slide and valve for controlling ;the passage of fluid through the pipe connections, a platen bearing upon the abutment, a link pivotally supported by the casing, a plunger connected with one end of the link, a bar having its upper end pivotally connected with the link and its lower end pivotally connected with the other slide, and a spring encircling the plunger for yieldably holding the plunger engaged with the platen during reclprocation of the latter slide. I

In testimony whereofI afiix my signature.

1 CHARLES REID. [L.s.] 

